Born Bahriye Tokmak on 10 August 1960 in Akhisar, Manisa in the Aegean Region of Turkey to parents of Romani origin, the popular singer known professionally as Kibariye carved out a niche for herself in the country's modern Arabesque-pop scene. Kibariye cut her teeth singing in casinos in the mid-1970s where she caught the attention of classical Turkish composer and percussionist Muzaffer Özpınar. She soon began to gain a national following and was recruited to perform on New Year's Eve 1981 by TRT television (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), the same year as the release of her debut album Kimbilir. Aşkın Adresi and Gelin Ağıtı came next, both in 1982, and she went on to cement her reputation across a wealth of albums including 1985's İşte Kibariye, 1989's Arabesk'in Sultanı and En Büyük Kibariye and a hat-trick of albums produced by Prestij Müzik: 1998's Bir Duygudur Kibariye, 2000's Boyun Eğmem and 2001's Yeniden. She has been a judge on ATV's singing competition Oryantal Star and in 2016 performed at the 85th İzmir International Fair. 2019 saw the release of Ufukta Aşk Görünüyor and Ağlarım. In 2023, she teamed up with Çağlar Alkaç for the single "Hani Benim Gençliğim."
